


DYMD Volume 1

by CaraLea



Series: DYMD [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Beacon Academy, Canon Characters as Background, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parallel Storyline, mirror twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraLea/pseuds/CaraLea
Summary: Daisy and Yeong Nolang are twins.  Since birth, they have always been lumped together.  It's what makes them stronger they decided long ago.  But now, when they attend Beacon Academy halfway across the world from home, how do they cope with new teams, new friends, and new lives?Alright this story is a parallel timeline story, takes place at the same time as RWBY, just with my OC's.  I'm trying to follow the same format, that the chapters are short and get longer with time, that the writing is vague and gets deeper with time.  I hope that I get the story across accurately and in good manner!Thursday Updates





	1. New World

"Ooh, can you _believe_ it?" she trilled. "We're going to _Vale_!"

"Well yeah," Yeong answered, which was rather challenging considering Daisy had him in the tightest bear hug yet. At least on this trip. "Beacon's there. So we have to go to Vale."

Daisy took a step back, her light blue eyes shining. "We didn't have to go to Beacon. It would have been much easier for us to go to Shade. And cheaper," she added, as though an afterthought.

Yeong winced. Their parents were already stretched to the limit. Sending their twin children to combat school had depleted their already low funds. Both parents had had to work extra hours to be able to afford it. Not that River Point Academy, the primary combat school in Vacuo, hadn't helped out. It's just that they had two children who needed training, two children who needed weapons materials, two children who needed their time whenever they had competitions. Not to mention two children's worth of tuition and room and board.

Yeong had a feeling that their parents would rather they had chosen _any_ other career. Not that they'd had much of a choice. Daisy had a _powerful_ aura. One day while meditating as a child, she'd unlocked it by accident. Yeong had no idea how she did this. All he knew was that, connected as they were, when Daisy's aura was unlocked, so was his.

After she discovered she couldn't be hurt, there was really no other option for Daisy. She wanted to be a fighter, and so she would be. Neither really did anything without the other, so child-Yeong had also wanted to be a fighter. And together, they were good at it too. Both could handle weapons aura, dust, and their own strength quite well. What choice did their parents have? Deprive their gifted children the right to become whatever they wanted?

So both parents had gotten second jobs and worked until they were dead on their feet to be able to afford the rates to get their kids through school.

"Mom and dad want us to see Remnant," he reminded himself more than his sister. "Going to Beacon was their idea."

That much was true. Their parents had suggested Beacon over Shade, knowing it would be more expensive to send them abroad than it would be keeping them closer to home. However, Beacon had a slightly better reputation, and their parents were right about seeing the world. Yeong privately thought that their parents really wanted them to have chances mom and dad never would. Going abroad, becoming huntsmen…these were things neither mom nor dad were capable of doing.

"What do you think it's going to be like at Beacon?" Daisy interrupted his train of thought. "Will it be colder there do you think? Will there be a lot of trees?"

Daisy's boundless energy could either be really annoying, or really enlightening, depending on Yeong's mood. Today, it was annoying. "I don't actually know, sister," he said firmly, knowing she would catch the hint. "I've never actually been there."

Daisy smiled brightly at him before looking out the window again. She was no less excited, he guessed, but simply didn't want to bother him. Yeong took a deep breath. There was no need to be a grump to his sister. He felt a little guilty for brushing her down like that, but then again, she was used to it.

This was one of the many glaring differences between the two of them. They were _always_ on the same page, yet their moods never seemed to line up. Yeong would describe Daisy as having the emotional maturity of a small child while Yeong…he was always on top of his emotions. Yet at the same time, his sister had her surprisingly wise moments, but only whenever Yeong couldn't handle himself anymore. They were exactly alike, yet polar opposites. Even their fighting styles, which complimented each other in every way, were different. Daisy was the aggressor, the forerunner, the attack, while Yeong was the defense, the guard. He was the eyes while she was the punch.

Even their physical appearances…they were mirror twins. Identical, yet they looked different. Sure, they had the same blonde hair, blue eyes, and even the same step…yet they were inverted to one another. Yeong was left-handed while Daisy was right-handed. Why, even Daisy's heart was on the wrong side. It was a rare trait that doctors, flown all the way from Atlas, had finally figured out was genetic. Nothing to really worry about, they'd said. It was in her genes.

And now here they were, Daisy excited about seeing a whole new world while Yeong silently panicked from being so far from home. How could they be so alike, and yet so different?


	2. Touchdown

They touched down with a thud. Yeong looked around nervously as the doors opened with a ping. "Yeong," Daisy gripped his arm so tight he fingertips went numb. "This is it! We're here!"

Yeong took a deep breath, if only to keep himself from snapping at his sister. Letting the air in his lungs relax him, he smiled at her. His sister looked positively buoyant. They had been in Vale approximately two whole hours. Daisy had said it didn't count because they hadn't left the airfield. After their ship from Vacuo had arrived, they had waited inside the port for an hour and then some before boarding this ship to take them to Beacon. It would be their first real experience in a new place once they left this ship.

Heart pounding, hand clutching his sister's, Yeong stepped outside the airship.

Beacon was _huge_. It was as if the school as an entire city unto itself. There were pillars along the path leading into the school grounds. He could see off to the side a circular garden. He couldn't see it from here, but he knew that there were fountains there.

Exchanging a glance with his sister, Yeong began the long trek up the main walkway. Around them, students were bustling forward, ready to get started. Directly in front of them, two girls stopped to admire the view. Without needing to redirect his sister, the twins sidestepped around the girls and kept walking.

"Where are we going?" Yeong asked, looking around.

"I suppose following the others might not be a bad idea?" Daisy suggested. Yeong shrugged and took the lead behind the throng of new students. The only problem was that it seemed everyone seemed to be going in different directions. "Umm…" she looked left, then right, then shrugged. "I guess we're going to have to ask someone."

Disappointment curdled in Yeong's stomach. His first day at Beacon and he already was going to look like an idiot. "I'd really rather…not." Too late. Daisy was already skipping up the nearest person. It was a green-haired boy, slightly taller than Yeong himself. The boy glanced at her before freezing, as though perplexed by her odd behavior. Yeong couldn't blame him.

"Hi," she said brightly, smiling with full teeth. "I'm Daisy." She held out her hand as if to shake it.

The boy looked confused for a moment. Yeong stiffened. What if this boy reacted badly to his sister's rather polite greeting. What if he did something rude, or worse? What would he do to the stranger boy if he was mean?

As it turned out, he was panicking over nothing (as usual). The boy visibly relaxed, taking Daisy's hand in his own with a slight smile. "I'm Olive."

Daisy smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "This is my brother Yeong," she indicated her brother where he was standing. Without much choice, he reached out and shook Olive's hand as well. His hand was warm. "We're new here. First years, you know?"

"Oh yeah?" Olive said, tilting his head. "I am too."

"Yeah, we saw you on the airship," Daisy admitted. They had? Yeong thought back to their short trip from Vale to Beacon. He couldn't remember seeing this kid once. Apparently Daisy had though. "So do you know where we're supposed to go?"

Olive shrugged just as a new voice sounded. "I heard all new students were supposed to go to the amphitheater." Yeong whirled around, looking into a pair of silvery gray eyes. The face they belonged to was a red-haired girl. Her teeth were shocking bright against the dark complexion. He couldn't help but notice her fox ears sticking out of her head. "Hi, I'm Arya." She took his hand in a surprisingly strong-gripped shake. She had a thick, strange accent. "I couldn't help overhearing."

"That's okay," he responded. "You said we're supposed to go to the amphitheater?"

"That's right," she nodded. "Only, I'm not sure where that is."

Daisy stepped forward, eyes bright. "Well, we'll just have to do my most practiced method of finding something we need." Yeong his hand over his eyes in exasperation, knowing what was coming next. "Wandering aimlessly until we find what we're looking for."

Olive rolled his eyes, snorting with amusement. Arya giggled, covering her mouth with her fingers to hide her smile. Yeong cast a sidelong glance at his sister, but her eyes were alight and she seemed to be happy.

"Alright," he said, feeling excited instead of nervous for the first time since they'd left Vacuo. "Let's go."


	3. Speech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, the chapters will get longer with time. Right now, they're all kind of short.

The four of them mounted the steps together. "Hey," Arya said, gesturing with her hands. "I think we've found it!"

Sure enough, the room was rather deep and quite tall. Already some others were gathered here. Daisy saw a girl with long black hair sitting on the floor across the room. She was wearing a rather pretty kimono of purple with pink flower patterns across it. Her arms were poised in front of her chest, her eyes closed. She appeared to be in deep meditation. Congregated together was a small cluster of students. Most notable in the group was the wolf-eared girl, and her seeming friend with the long golden hair.

"See," Daisy said to their small cluster. "The wandering method always works."

"Except for that one time dad had at Shade for the expo," Yeong snorted.

Daisy's cheeks burned with embarrassment. "That was one time!" she argued defensively.

"One of many times," Yeong corrected her, smiling with amusement. "None of which I will ever let you live down."

Daisy glared at her brother, but didn't reply.

The foursome stood there for some time, watching the theater slowly fill with other students. She was surprised to recognize some. There was one girl familiar, yet somehow surprising to see. Pale, white hair, blue eyes…that girl could only be a Schnee. Daisy only knew this from the one time the father had been to her small town, where there was a dust quarry the Schnee Dust Company owned. Then she saw a face, shockingly familiar. She squealed with delight, gripping her brother's arm.

"Look, it's Pyrrha Nikos!"

Instantly each member of her group turned to look. Pyrrha was quite the famous fighter. World renowned for her record in the Mistral regional tournament. The Vacuo winner was a tall, bulky boy named Phobos, who had attended River Point. Still, he was not as famous as Pyrrha.

"What's she doing here?" Yeong asked quietly, almost to himself. "Why isn't she at Haven?"

"Why are we here instead of Shade?" Daisy said impatiently. "But do you think we'll end up on a team with her?"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Olive spoke from where he was leaning against the wall. "There are lots of people here who probably are thinking the same thing."

Looking around, Daisy couldn't help but agree that her chances of getting on Pyrrha's team were slim. She was certainly not the only one looking at the champion. She shrugged and turned to Yeong. "It would be cool to be on a team with Pyrrha."

"Don't worry," Arya said, resting her hand on Daisy's shoulder. "You'll get good fighters no matter what team you're on."

"Definitely," Daisy said confidently. She shared a glance with her brother, and new they were both thinking the same thing. There was no room for her to be partners with the famous girl. She was already going to be partners with her brother. There was no doubt about it. They had always worked together in school. This was not going to be any different.

There was a silent cough, the squeal of a microphone back-feeding. By now, most of the students had figured out where to gather, and gotten themselves here. On stage was a middle-aged man, with white hair and glasses. Daisy supposed this was the headmaster, Professor Ozpin. She had never seen him in person before, and her heart thrummed uncomfortably in her chest as she looked upon him. Even from this distance, she could sense power radiating from this man, and understood how he had come to be headmaster here at Beacon.

"I'll…keep this brief," he began. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you leave here, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Daisy smiled proudly. She was going to be a huntress. It was her dream job. "But I look among you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction."

"What?" she murmured, exchanging a look with Yeong.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this," Ozpin continued, ignoring the whispers that filled the hall at his words. "But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Ozpin didn't expect applause and didn't receive any. Rather, he walked away without another word, disappearing back stage.

"What was that about?" Daisy muttered aloud. Yeong only shrugged.

Replacing Ozpin was the lady from the video on the ship, Professor Goodwitch took his place. "You will gather in ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins." She paused, letting a very pregnant silence fill the space. "Be ready. You're dismissed."


	4. Other Half

Yeong and Daisy set up their sleeping bags together in a far corner of the room. Daisy, exhausted from her long day, fell asleep right away. Yeong lay awake thinking.

Ozpin's speech had left him feeling odd. Empty almost.

What had he meant when he'd said that knowledge could only take them so far? Obviously, he'd have to work with knowledge he used to get somewhere, but clearly knowledge was an integral part of becoming a Huntsmen.

Maybe that wasn't what Ozpin had meant. He hadn't said that knowledge wasn't useful, only that it was part of what was needed to become a Huntsman.

So what was he missing? He already had what he felt was necessary to slaying monsters. He had his weapon, Alcander, which was currently stored in a school locker. He'd been born with his partner. Silently, he glanced at his sister in the darkness. Combining their skills was useful in the battlefield. Intertwined as their aura's were, they practically didn't need to speak to each other to know the next move in the fight.

With his knowledge, his skill in battle, his powerful aura, his connection to his sister, what was he missing?

Maybe that's why he was still in school: to figure out what it was he was missing that was essential to becoming a huntsman. Exhaustion weighed at his eyes. Whatever it was he was missing, he wouldn't be able to solve it overnight. Across the room from where he and Daisy were snuggled up in their sleeping bags, a cluster of girls was arguing loudly. It made him appreciate his sister ever more.

 _I'm glad I'm not going through this alone,_ he thought as his eyes closed and his mind began to drift into sleep. _Or with enemies._

…

Daisy couldn't sleep in the next day. Usually, she was a late sleeper, but her nerves didn't allow for that. Yeong was usually the one up bright and early. Today was the first time he could recall not being sick and wanting to get more sleep. However, boisterous as always, Daisy shook him awake the moment she was.

"Today's the day!" she chirped, eyes popping with excitement. Yeong groaned, rolling over. "Today is initiation. We'll be a part of a team. We'll officially become a part of the school!"

"Right," he muttered, wishing he could pretend this wasn't real. His stomach curdled with tension. He wasn't ready for this. For all he knew, they could have to fight in front of the entire school. This was not something he was prepared to do.

And teams…although he and Daisy were always partners, this would be the first time they would have to work with other people. They would be on a team with two complete strangers. They would have to train together, go to classes together, and even share dorms together.

Whatever was in store for the two siblings, Daisy didn't seem all that nervous about it. In fact, she was practically quivering with excitement as the two of them gathered their things. Together, they performed their usual morning routine: brushing their teeth, gathering their supplies together, and heading to the locker room to get their supplies.

It was here that they saw all of the other students' weapons for the first time. Olive and Arya were already there. Olive was holding what appeared to be a long-handled blade while Arya was holding a smaller, cattle prod.

"That's cool," Yeong said, pointing at Olive's blade. The boy smirked, looking over his weapon with obvious pride.

"Thank you," he answered. "I worked really hard in designing it."

Yeong was not at all surprised to hear that Olive had made his own weapon. In fact, he doubted there was a student there who hadn't made their weapons. He himself had designed Alcander. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary, perhaps well designed, club. But at the bottom of the club was an extendable metal base with a 45 caliber high impact sniper rifle. At first he hadn't thought anything special of it, but when he put in dust bullets, the shot on it was amazing. Of course, the recoil on it was also quite alarming. The first time he'd fired it, he'd nearly ripped his shoulder out of socket. Add gravity dust to that, and he could throw himself quite some distance with recoil alone.

He glanced over at his sister. Who could forget the long hours she'd put into her weapon design? On first glance, one would suspect her weapon was a regular staff. They didn't know that it happened to also be a glider, with jet propulsion on the bottom. It had taken months for her to figure out exactly how to put together the mechanics of the interior in such a small space. He remembered vividly her frustration whenever she tested it and it failed. The first time she was able to fly it was an extraordinary day indeed.

"So," Arya said, changing the conversation abruptly. "Have you guys given any thought to teams?"

Olive looked around and shrugged. "Some yeah, but nothing concrete."

Yeong shrugged while Daisy chirped, "Yeong and I have no idea who we're going to be working with."

Arya and Olive exchanged a stunned glance. "You guys already know you're going to be working together?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course!" Daisy said. "Yeong and I have always been partners! Why should we stop that now?"

"What if they choose our partners for us?" Arya asked reasonably.

Yeong turned to his sister, eyes widening worriedly. Arya had a point that he had not even considered up to this point. What if they weren't together? What if they didn't even end up on the same team?

Daisy, however, snorted. "Yeong and I have always been together. We know each other so well we can practically read minds. What better partner for the other would there be?"

Arya shrugged and did not press the point, but Yeong was not convinced. He didn't know what would happen to them during initiation.

Suddenly Glynda's voice filled the locker area, "Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff immediately." It was time.

He looked at his quirky sister. They had never been separated, not once. As he looked at her confident smile, he tried to imagine going through the next four years without her, but couldn't. He guessed it was up to fate, but hoped against hope that he didn't end up on a team without her.


	5. Other Half pt 2

Daisy walked side by side Yeong on their way to Beacon Cliff. The cliff-face was tall and deep, leading down to a dark forest. Other first year students were all lining up facing the forest. Arya was already on the far end of the lineup, looking out into the trees with relish.

Daisy stepped up to stand beside the girl when her foot caught on something. She glanced down, her eyes widening as joy filled her.

It was a launch pad.

 _Yes_! she thought, excitement blazing through her. They were going to be launched into the forest. What better way to kick off initiation than to go flying through the air.

Maybe some others were unprepared for this venture, but not Daisy. After all, _she_ was the only one she knew of there that had a glider. Granted she'd never been thrown into flight before, but she'd launched with her jet propulsion. What difference was there, really?

Her brother took his place beside her. She smiled at him confidently, but he only nodded. Yeong had always been the nervous type, but not Daisy. She was the type of girl who needed to take action, and what better way to do that than being launched straight into her first day at Beacon?

Or perhaps Yeong was still thinking about what Arya had said about not being partners? Her brother needed to lighten up. There was no way they wouldn't be partners. Sure, it might take some convincing, but Daisy was completely certain that they would be able to prove themselves a good team.

Professors were standing before them. Daisy recognized them as Professor Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin from yesterday. It made sense that Ozpin would be there, as he was the headmaster of the school. Goodwitch looked like she was holding some sort of monitor. Did that mean she was going to be the one to assign them teammates?

By now everyone had gathered and Ozpin began to speak. "For years you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Goodwitch stepped forward. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams'." Her eyes ran up and down the line while she spoke, her voice brisk. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. You will all be assigned teammates. **Today**."

Daisy leaned forward unconsciously. How would they get those teammates? Would they assign them right now?

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin said in a dull monotone. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone you work well. That being said," Daisy narrowed her eyes in concentration. "The first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

"Yes!" Daisy said, turning an excited eye on her brother. To his dismay, his face looked aghast, as though he were incredibly nervous. Why was he so upset? They were practically guaranteed to be partners. She and Yeong were so connected, and on such a deep level, it was almost impossible to think that they wouldn't end up together. Besides, even if they didn't land beside each other, she had her glider, and could find him easily. What was he so worried about?

"After you've paired up, head to the northern end of the forest," Ozpin ordered. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path…or you _will_ die."

He paused to let that sink in. The northern end of the forest? Back in Vacuo, Daisy could pick out cardinal directions with ease. But she had never been in Vale before, and so she wasn't entirely certain which direction north was.

Ozpin continued with his instructions. "You will be monitored and graded throughout the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of your path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

At the far end of the line, a timid voice said, "Yeah, um, sir?"

"Good!" Ozpin said, ignoring the boy and continuing on as though he hadn't spoken. "Now, take your positions."

To her right, Yeong took out Alcander, clicking the bottom and revealing a long metal shaft filled with dust. He twisted until it turned red. In her hand was the grip of Akita-Ilma. She squeezed until the long staff appeared. Gently she tapped the bottom against the earth and the wings of her glider popped out, along with to beams at the bottom to put her feet.

She had just crouched into take off position, clutching her precious weapon to her back when Arya's springboard launched. Daisy had never been launched into flight before with her glider, but was incredibly confident she could handle anything.

The thought had just crossed her head when she was launched. The toss wasn't quite forceful enough to keep her airborne for long, so she used her hand to activate the propulsion. A wave of energy passed out the bottom, rocketing her forward with enough speed to keep the glider up.

Around her, the students were already starting to fall to the earth. She smirked, hoping the headmaster was watching her soar above the forest.

She circled overhead, looking for her objective. _There_! On the edge of the forest, in a direction she could only assume was north, there was a collection of old, abandoned buildings. As she circled lower and lower, she saw that one in particular, edged away from the other buildings, had a circular setup with what appeared to be pillars. There was a glint of light. Those were the relics!

Initiation had gone one for maybe five minutes and she'd already found her objective. Now to find her brother.

She was the only one still in the air by now. In her heart, she new her brother was already on the ground, fighting his way through whatever to get to her. The treetops brushed her knees and she closed the circle tighter into a small clearing, circling down and down.

She dropped straight into a roll before coming to land on her knees, head down, weapon against her back in a standard fighting position. Slowly, she got to her knees and took a deep breath, releasing all the air from her lungs to help stop her heart pounding.

No sooner did she finish that breath than a piercing scream hit the air, accompanied by a monstrous roar. Adrenaline shot through her as sounds of battle followed suit. There was no time to think, only time to react.

Daisy took off into the trees, weapon ready. She could see, just ahead, a massive Ursa, bigger than she'd ever seen, looming over someone who'd clearly not had time to prepare for the onslaught. Behind that one was a horde of them. The biggest horde she'd ever seen. Ursa were rare in Vacuo, and when she had run into them, they were small and weak. This one was clearly an Alpha, and a very big one at that.

Digging the engine end of Akita-Ilma into the ground, she gave a short blast that propelled her forward in an arc, smashing her feet headlong into the massive beast and kicking it away from the unlikely victim.

She didn't have time to turn and see the person she'd just rescued. Her kick had sent the Alpha Ursa flying, but now the rest of the pack was leaning in, readying to attack.

…

Yeong took a massive swing, hitting the nearest Grimm directly in the gut. It was good thinking on the part of his weapons professors back at River Point to add spikes at the end. Otherwise, defeating these Beowolves might have been that much harder. As it was, they weren't actually all that challenging to defeat. One hit hard enough in any sensitive area would take one out. The problem was there were _so many_ of them, and Yeong, who had not really run into any Beowolves in Vacuo was not entirely confident that he could beat them all. He was sure to run out of energy. Alcander, while a very effective weapon, was quite heavy and took a lot of strength to use. On top of that, the creatures wouldn't go down unless he hit them with enough force. Otherwise he'd only redirect them.

Initiation so far wasn't going as well as he'd planned. First he'd realized that the likelihood of getting partnered with his sister was slim to none, considering the first person he made eye contact with in these woods was destined to fulfill that role. Then, before he'd had enough time for that to really sink in, he was launched off a cliff-face with nothing but his weapon and his wits to protect him. He'd managed to slow his descent down with a couple of shots, then bounced off some tree branches until he'd landed…straight into this horde.

One of the Beowolves leaped at him. He ducked and twisted out of the way, using the momentum of his spin to swing his weapon in a wide arc, bringing it down straight on the massive Grimm's head.

From behind, he heard two gunshots. He swung around to see a very tall boy backing into the clearing, arms raised. Distracted by the presence of the newcomer, Yeong was clipped by the claws of one Beowulf from in front, sending him flying backwards. He smashed into the other boy, who must have been sturdier than he looked because his stance did not change.

One of the creatures dove at him. Years of training gave Yeong some great reflexes. He somersaulted out of the way, landing on his knees and bringing his weapon down on the small of the creatures back, pounding it into the ground. A shot fired straight into the creatures head. Yeong looked up, meeting the gray eyes of the stranger boy. Now that they were facing each other, Yeong could see that he had two, arm-mounted fusion canons obviously powered with dust. The sight was very impressive.

However they were still surrounded on all sides by the wild creatures. The fight was not over yet. Slowly, the other boy nodded, acknowledging their new position as partners. Yeong nodded back, rising to a standing position.

A low growl brought him to his senses. He and his new partner whirled to face the enemy. He took a step back, his right foot forward slightly, arm raised. He felt the presence, so close to his, as he stood back to back with his new partner. Internally, his resolve grew steely. He was ready.

…

Daisy dug the bottom of her weapon into the ground and gave another blast, This sent her flying through the air. From behind, she put the weapon against the Ursa's back, blasting it forward toward the girl. She didn't take time to look, but noticed out of the side of her eyes that it was definitely a girl, and she seemed to have some kind of spear.

She ducked underneath the swipe of another Ursa, spinning her weapon around with ease the knock its feet out from under it. She put the end against its temple and fired another blast, sending its brains scattering.

"Down!" she heard an alto voice call her. She dropped to the ground just in time as a long gold something went flying overhead. Daisy's eyes widened as she saw it go straight into the beast's throat, killing the last Ursa left.

She watched as the beast faded away, leaving nothing but the long, golden weapon sticking out of the ground. It took Daisy a moment to realize what she was looking at.

It was a trident. Beautiful and glorious. On the bottom end was what appeared to be a sharp point, and along the middle three ringlets hung. Only when she looked closely did she realize that the thing must be collapsible, and the ring was holding the pieces together. She narrowed her eyes. The shaft was so smooth, there was no point on it where she could see distinct pieces. Whoever had made that weapon was incredibly gifted.

"Hey," said the same voice from before. She turned her head and saw a hand, olive skinned and leathery from years of sunshine, reaching down to help her up. She gratefully took it, rising to her feet and looking at the girl for the first time.

The girl was handsome, dark-skinned, brown hair that framed her face and bangs. She was wearing a brown shirt, black shorts that clung to her frame, and green vest. Her feet were cradled in battle shoes.

Blue eyes met green. The other girl smiled slowly, her face lighting up with pleasure, but Daisy felt a chill of foreboding.

 _This is not how this is meant to be!_ she thought desperately. _I'm supposed to be Yeong's partner! Who is this girl?_


	6. Launch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy my rare update everybody! oh and Happy Thanksgiving!  
> -CL

The strange girl smiled broadly. "Hey, thanks for the save," she said politely. "I've never fought so many Grimm at once before."

"Right," Daisy said uncertainly, still trying to shake the sheer discomfort she felt. _This isn't how this is supposed to go_! she thought. She was supposed to be Yeong's partner. She'd always been Yeong's partner. But now she was stuck with this strange girl.

"I'm Mallory," the girl continued, either not noticing or ignoring Daisy's attitude. "I'm from Mistral."

"Daisy," she answered, voice still taut. She pointed at the golden trident, still sticking up out of the ground. "That's a…beautiful, trident." The girl- Mallory- broadened her smile, her perfect teeth a white splash against her bronze face.

"Gahijil," she said, walking forward to pluck it out of the dirt. "I built it myself." Her voice was brimming with pride, drawing Daisy out of her reverie a little.

"Is it entirely made out of gold?"

Mallory laughed a little. "Oh no! There's a thin gold alloy on top. The core is made out of titanium." With ease, the girl broke the pieces apart. Daisy gawked until she realized the pieces were _supposed_ to come apart. There was actually a joint there she hadn't noticed before. "I embedded iron clippings inside so it magnetizes," her new partner continued, looking with fondness down at the gorgeous weapon. "It makes it easier to pull it apart and put it back together when I need to clean it."

Daisy stepped forward so she could take a closer look. The craftsmanship that went into making this weapon was very detailed. Running down the side of the weapon was what appeared to be a carving of a vine.

"I like your staff," Mallory said. Daisy looked up, handing the trident back to its owner, who promptly hooked the ringlet on a small peg attached to her belt. Smiling, she held the staff up so her new partner could see it clearly. "How do you get that blast to come out the end?" the girl continued. "Is there a gun concealed in there?"

"Nope," she answered the question. "There's a jet."

Mallory gawked at her. "A jet engine? Really? How'd you fit it in there?"

"Many hours of hard work," she admitted, then she smiled to herself. While her staff might not be as aesthetically pleasing as Mallory's trident, Akita-Ilma definitely outshined her in the mechanics and engineering.

"That's pretty cool," Mallory said nodding.

"Thanks." Daisy began to warm up slightly to her new partner. Even so, she still wasn't fond of the arrangement and longed for the company of her brother more than ever.

Mallory began to look around the torn up clearing. "Now all we have to do is find that temple," she said assuredly. "I'm not entirely sure which way north is, but if I hold Gahijil by the ring, it can be used as a free floating magnet, or a compass, which always points magnetically north."

"It's that way," Daisy said abruptly, pointing in the direction from which she'd came.

Mallory whipped around to stare at her. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it while I was flying overhead," she admitted.

Her teammate's eyes widened. "You can fly?"

To answer the question, Daisy tapped Akita-Ilma against the ground, revealing its glider form.

"Whoa!" Mallory's jaw dropped. "Your staff is also a glider? That's pretty rad." She tilted her head. "No wonder you needed a jet at the bottom. How else were you going to take off."

"Yes," was all Daisy could say.

Mallory stared at her with a new light, a light of appreciation in her eyes. "Well that definitely makes things easier! Lucky me I got you for a partner!"

Daisy smiled, trying very hard not to cringe.

…

Yeong took a final swing, knocking the Grimm to the ground. He was too tired to make the final hit a kill shot, so he swung around, using gravity to propel his weapon downward, the momentum of which waved it about in a wide arc, up and over his head and down on the beast with enough force to end its life.

He looked around. His partner was just taking out the last of the beasts with a kill shot straight to the chest and head. Dual arm-mounted canons could come in handy, Yeong thought to himself. Of course he'd never give up Alcander.

The tall boy whirled to face him. Both trainees were panting, the effort of taking out all the Grimm having exhausted them. Yeong checked his scroll, which he kept on a band attached to his forearm. His aura was already halfway depleted. That meant he was only at half his strength for the rest of initiation. And they hadn't even really begun.

Great.

"Hey," the other guy said, making Yeong look up.

"Hi," he muttered back.

The boy swung forward a sweaty palm, holding out his hand expectantly. "I'm Diesel."

Once again, he answered in a one-word monotone. "Yeong." But he took Diesel's hand. He had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Guess we walk on," Diesel said after a minute. Yeong nodded, equally as abashed as his partner seemed to be. Sighing as if in discontent, the gray-haired boy nodded toward the trees. Yeong took this to mean that was the direction they were heading, and started pacing forward without a second thought. Diesel followed lazily. He was so tall, Yeong had a feeling he could be jogging and the boy would still only have to mildly increase his pace.

"You're a good fighter," his partner muttered. Yeong had a feeling he was trying to make conversation to make Yeong more comfortable, but the truth was the blonde twin was perfectly content to walk in silence. After all, they had plenty of time to get to know each other after initiation was complete, and right now all he wanted to concentrate on was his mission.

But…it was rude not to answer, and since they were stuck together for the rest of the year, he figured it would be best not to ignore his partner.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly. "But you should see my sister."

Diesel glanced at him, surprised. "You have a sister?"

Yeong smiled. "Yeah. A twin. She's around here somewhere."

In the time it took Diesel to answer, Yeong couldn't help but wonder if his new partner realized Yeong would rather be with Daisy than him. If he did, he didn't say anything.

"That's cool. My cousin came here with me too."

"What's her name?" Yeong asked, interested despite himself.

"Coral."

Yeong considered his partner for a moment. "That's a pretty name. Where are you guys from?"

"Atlas. You and your sister?"

"Oh, we're from Vacuo." Diesel just shrugged in response. The more the conversation carried on, the less interested he seemed. Or maybe that was just Yeong's nerves. Either way it bothered him a little. Suddenly he was struck by the desire to impress this stranger who he was stuck with. "It was cool. I mean it was actually quite warm but we- I mean we learned a lot at River Point."

Again, Diesel didn't respond. "The professors there were great. We practiced day and night to get in here. And if you thought I was good, wait until you meet my sister."

"Your sister?" Diesel asked, sounding mildly interested again.

"Yeah dude, she is crazy awesome."

…

The two girls pushed aside the low-hanging branches, stepping into the clearing and peering around. Admittedly, both girls were a bit wary considering their destructive landing. Being tossed into a situation where they were already attacked once that day, partnered with a total stranger in a deep forest, and having been pre-warned that they were probably going to die should anything go wrong…wary seemed a reasonable emotion at the time.

The so-called "temple" was really a glorified set of ruins. Stone set into the ground with what were probably once great pillars supporting what they assumed to have been a fantastic roof of some-kind, now it was just a pile of rubble. Except for the columns in a neat semi-circle, which looked like they could have been placed there recently, on top of which sat what appeared to be-

"Chess pieces?" Mallory asked, walking quietly up to the nearest one.

Daisy peered at her and opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. Instead, a resounding _crack_! sounded across the circle from where they'd come.

A girl with flaming orange hair came tearing out of the trees. Daisy didn't really have long to register much about her appearance. Except for the wild look of pure glee on her face that got Daisy's attention immediately. Really, she looked like she was in the middle of a wild adventure, and in all honesty, she probably was.

The nearest tree cracked to the ground with another almighty _crack_! An Ursa the size of a small building followed, red eyes gleaming even from this distance.

"Should we help her?" Mallory's voice sounded in her ear, making Daisy jump.

"I- " she began, but stopped. What should they do?

"Nettle!" called a familiar voice. Daisy recognized the voice, but couldn't put a name to it. "Use Sindile!" The girl twisted, flipping to hold up what appeared to be a canon blaster. With a loud cackle, she fired off three rounds of- well it wasn't shells, that's for sure, although from this far, Daisy couldn't see them exactly.

The rounds pierced through the beast, ripping large chunks of fur and smoke straight out of the creature's face. One went straight through one of the Ursa's glowing red eyeballs. A couple of small cracks went off behind the beast, and then a shape dropped down from above, tan wearing brown boots, and Daisy recognized him instantly.

On the way down, the sniper rifle transformed into a long-handled blade, which he expertly stabbed through the beast's head.

With a loud grunt, the creature fell, smoking furling off its still form.

Mallory and Daisy stood side by side, watching as the other two brushed themselves off. The girl's weapon made a series of mechanical clicks, compacting down to a reasonable size, which she then latched onto a strap hanging crookedly over her shoulder. The new pairing across the way glanced at each other at the same time Mallory and Daisy did.

"Daisy," the boy said suddenly, as if he were only just recognizing her.

"Hey Olive."

Mallory nudged her arm gently. "You know this guy?"

"We met yesterday," Daisy explained. "Mallory, this is Olive. Olive, this is my partner, Mallory."

Mallory grinned at him in a way Daisy would name as open and shy. "Nice to meet you," she said in that deep alto, sounding much more confident than Daisy imagined she would.

Olive tilted his head. "Likewise." He indicated the orange-haired girl with his hands. "This is Nettle, my new partner."

Nettle grinned in a shark-like way, her eyes sharp and her teeth bared. "Sup?"

Mallory and Daisy exchanged another glance. They were really starting to get good at that silent communication thing.


	7. New Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your endless patience! Five weeks is a long time to skip updates :( School got beyond crazy! I used the time over the holidays to get ahead in chapters, so I will have some to update even after school is once again underway. Thanks for sticking with me and enjoy the show!
> 
> -CL

After a few minutes, they lapsed into silence. After an hour Yeong started to feel pretty awkward. He should say something. Anything would be better than this tension. Diesel had seemed interested in conversation at first, but now he was sullen and quiet, making Yeong more uncomfortable by the second.

He had just opened his mouth to speak when a sharp crack behind them made them both sharply turn. Yeong pulled out his club and held it at the ready, eyes wide, pupils dilated as he tried desperately to see in the dark foliage. He was vaguely aware of Diesel beside him, arms up and fusion canons ready.

They needn't have jumped, although given their current situation, it wasn't really surprising that they were so wound up.

It was still for a moment, and then a girl stepped out of the shadows of the high trees.

Yeong could tell right away that she was from Atlas. Her long-tailed coat, heeled combat boots, and sharp features were recognizable at Atlesian right away. Even if all tof that didn't tell him, her weapon, stored at her side, was white and silver-plated, shiny and probably high-tech left no doubt as to where she came from.

She was tall, too. Not nearly as big as Diesel but at least a head taller than Yeong. Her dark gray-blue hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her bangs framing her pale face. Deep gray eyes looked first at Yeong, then over to Diesel. From there, a warm smile spread over her face, contrast to her cold stature.

"Coral," Diesel said formally, and Yeong almost successfully hid his jump. Yeong realized after a moment that he was referring to the girl.

"Hey Diesel," Coral answered, still eyeing Yeong from across the way. "See you found yourself a partner?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "This is my partner, Yeong. Yeong, this is my cousin, Coral."

"Oh," Yeong said stupidly, holding out his hand. Coral's eyes narrowed a fraction before she took it. "I- Nice to meet you." Smooth.

"And you," Coral replied formally. "This is my partner, Signe."

It wasn't until Coral pointed her out that Yeong noticed her. Signe was quite short, with wiry brown hair tugged into rough looking pigtails, and he couldn't help but notice the wolf ears sticking out of her head. Her yellow eyes bore into him from the short distance away, openly curious and slightly wild, but warm and welcoming just the same.

To his surprise, she was wearing a dress. Not a regular one by any means, but a dress just the same. It was a puffy brown skirt with what appeared to be battle armor along the right side. Stretching diagonal across her chest was a strap full of ammo. She was wearing fuzzy boots with fur that matched her wolf ears.

And he took an immediate liking to her. He could almost feel the energy radiating off of her. So he smiled back and took her hand maybe a little more firmly than Coral's. "Hey," he greeted.

"Sup?" she asked in a short, friendly manner.

"How far off do you think we are?" Coral asked, peering in the direction Diesel and Yeong had been heading.

Yeong followed her line of sight. There was a path there. It was almost completely hidden by underbrush, but it was there nonetheless. "I don't know," he murmured in response. "But it can't be far, can it?"

The four of them started walking together. Signe and Coral kept to themselves while Yeong and Diesel kept to themselves. But they headed in the same direction at the same pace, not bothering to do more to distinguish the teams.

Not far into their walk, they heard it: A screech followed by a deep roar.

"That's doesn't sound good," Signe breathed, turning her head slightly to the right and staring. Yeong barely had the mind to wonder how she knew it came from that direction specifically. To him it felt like it came from all around.

"We're all Huntsmen and Huntresses here," Diesel said after a moment. "I'm sure whatever's going wrong, they can handle it."

Coral nodded in agreement and Signe shrugged. For some reason it bothered him that none of the other three were more inclined to investigate further. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen Daisy in so long. Or maybe Daisy was the one in trouble. A deep sense of worry turned his stomach.

He didn't have time to think about it though. Much closer he heard another roar. Then what could have been a wild yell. While his mind registered it, his focus was dominated by something much more important.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he reacted without thinking about it. He dove, somersaulting with the motion and coming to land on his feet, Alcander out and at the ready. His eyes widened as the beast, bigger than any Ursa he'd ever seen in his entire life, tore its way through the forest toward him. From behind, he could see bright blue eyes staring at him wide-eyed from the forest canopy far above. He would have recognized that figure anywhere.

" _Daisy_?"

It was then he recognized the look in her eyes: sheer terror.

"Yeong!" she shrieked wildly, loud enough for him to hear even from this distance. " _Run_!"

…

The beast was easily twice the size of the last one. Daisy couldn't help but wonder what the Vale kingdom Grimm _ate_. How could they be allowed to get so _big_?

Olive's plan was pretty simple. Lead the beast deep into the forest, and then drop down on it from the trees to slaughter it where there was no escape. It would have been simpler to take it on in the open, but the idea was to protect the relics at all cost. That meant giving up the advantage. Of course they would still win. They had to.

The plan was going marvelously, all things considered. Daisy hated being used as a diversion, especially on a creature this size. But with her ability to take to the air at any given moment was a distinct advantage if things went bad.

She tapped the end of Akita-Ilma into the ground, blasting herself into the air with a joyous screech. Behind her the massive Ursa roared in response.

It was at least 50 meters from her starting point that she reached the tip of her arc. If she were being honest, she didn't mind that last part. Air rushing past her, ponytail streaming behind her, curling her legs up in preparation of a landing. The jolt to her body when she hit the ground always took a small hit on her aura, but it was well worth it, and she could minimize that if she landed correctly.

This time, she flashed her hand out, snagging a thin branch to slow her decent, swung from a second, slightly thicker branch before landing fluidly on a low branch without taking a single hit to aura. It was easily her smoothest landing ever. Of all time.

She whirled on her branch, looking to see if the beast was still following her. At first she couldn't see it. _How does a giant monster disappear?_ she thought to herself. Then she heard it's roar again, from much farther back. Oh there it was. She could see it as if from afar. She must have jumped farther than she thought.

Far enough that the beast was no longer chasing her. It seemed to have lost interest in her altogether.

"Hey!" she called back to it, trying to get its attention. But the beast didn't respond. It was too focused on its new target. She turned her head a fraction and saw where it was going.

Horror pierced her deep. It was Yeong.

Her brother? _Now?_ Perfect. Of all times for him to show up during her initiation he _had_ to choose when she was trying (and apparently failing) to lead the most massive Ursa to a meeting point with Olive.

Daisy couldn't tell if Yeong had noticed the monster or not. She would have to assume so, considering he'd readied his weapon. But he was not watching the progress of the monster towards him. Instead, his eyes were watching her as though she were the only thing that mattered to him.

Maybe she was.

But he mattered to her.

"Yeong!" she yelled, fear and anger combining to bring it out sharper than intended. " _Run_!"

Her brother didn't move, just turned his head sharply and faced the monster head on. He was sure to lose! The Grimm was easily twice his size!

Out of nowhere, two fusion blasts hit the beast, almost knocking it backwards. Daisy narrowed her eyes. The tallest figure she'd ever seen was standing there next to Yeong. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. He wasn't _the_ tallest. He was pretty tall though.

His height did not impress her as much as his expression. He looked utterly indifferent, his arms up. She could see twin guns on each of his arms, and had to assume that those were where the blast had originated from.

She could see other figures there, but didn't have time to speculate on them. A glint in the light diverted her attention to the left where a golden blur speared into the back of the neck of the creature. Daisy recognized it instantly as Gahijil. Her partner's accuracy astounded her. Mallory had been pretty far behind to start out with, not to mention the extreme lead Daisy had managed to land herself with her staff.

As the beast tipped forward, Yeong jumped back, throwing a massive swing with his own weapon. The spikes his the side of the head, sending the Ursa sprawling.

Daisy was impressed.


	8. POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this week but a better one next week! Thank you for your patience!
> 
> -CL

Yeong hit the beast harder than he'd originally intended. He landed with a hard _thud_! Every part of his arm from where he gripped Alcander up to his collarbone ached from the impact of the hit. Of course, it had temporarily incapacitated the beast, but what did that buy them? Three whole minutes? And now he'd taken a hit to his already drained aura.

Which means they had approximately that amount of time to come up with a plan.

Daisy was approaching now, the spear-throwing girl on her tail. Yeong guessed that they were probably partners. A pang of loneliness shot through him. He glanced quickly at Diesel, reminding himself that he was not partnerless or alone in any way, and that it was inevitable for Daisy to have another partner because Yeong already had a partner.

"What is going on?" Diesel asked, his eyes widening as he took in the two girl's forms.

"We're leading it to Olive and Nettle," Daisy's must-be partner said quickly. "They were waiting to ambush it."

Yeong didn't waste time asking who Nettle was. "Where are you coming from?"

"Clearing in that direction," Daisy's partner said, pointing not quite in the direction Yeong and his group had been heading. "The relics are there. We thought to lead it away."

Yeong shook his head. "I have a better idea." The ground began to tremble as the Ursa rolled over, his enormous clawed digits digging into the dirt. "Where were you planning on meeting Olive?"

…

Daisy could only hope this plan would work. The dynamics of it were kind of upsetting. Olive's plan had been foolproof: get the beast away from the relics and take it down by ambushing it in less friendly territory. Yeong's plan negated all of that.

"Brute force," he'd said. "Our combined powers will take it down."

Daisy was still not entirely sure she believed that.

Still, it was easier to run to where Nettle and Olive were waiting without the giant monster trailing them.

The area that Olive had sent them was a ridge not far from where he'd landed. The trees leading into the wall were tall with thick branches. It would be easier for Nettle to find footing on the thicker branches for her needle canon, which had a surprising recoil. Nimble Olive would be able to drop down from above.

Mallory slowed to a halt, turning her head sharply and staring with her green eyes. Daisy noticed her grip on Gahijil tighten ever so slightly.

From far above came a low _whoosh_ ing sound, completed by a loud _thump_! where Olive landed. The impact could not have been good for his knees, Daisy noted.

"What's going on?" he asked, not displaying any sign of nerves, although Daisy herself was pretty upset.

"Where's the Ursa?" Nettle asked, springing lightly into view.

Daisy looked between them, feeling the tension in the air that neither showed. "There's been a problem."

…

From his place on the cliff, the Professor watched, his eyes narrowed as he took in the images on the screen. The events going on today were important to these students, and promised as he did that they would certainly die on their initiation, should they fail, he would not let any of his students actually be killed.

So many of them were quite skilled, but the truth was Beacon didn't have room for everyone who wanted to come. Already in the selection process he'd eliminated thousands of young men and women, both human and faunus, who wanted to go to combat school. Even so, some had managed to sneak past his many early tests and sneak their way up to this point.

He knew which ones. He always knew which ones.

The Professor flipped his way through a list of pairings, halting on a set of partners he had both expected and been surprised by. These kids had had some of the best recommendations to his program he'd ever seen. Looking at them now, he could see it.

Their talent wasn't overt. In fact, as far as battle skills go, they were right about average. Nothing particularly special. Nothing particularly unique.

But there was something about them. Something that spoke to their abilities that the Professor couldn't place. Even apart, it was clear they were of one mind, of one heart. They would either stand together even when they were physically separated.

Not that he was against sibling partnerships. But twins…well these two were different. Twins had a connection stronger than normal sibling relationships, he knew that. When he'd attended school a long time ago, he'd experienced something quite similar. Not the same, but similar.

And now, watching the boy reach his hand out towards the relic, Ozpin felt the severity of that connection all over again. These two were average alone, but together, they would be quite formidable.

If only he could promise them a comfortable future together.


	9. Juggernaut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're getting somehwere! Also I totally used Team APCT from ["Friends and Loved Ones"](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11998332/1/Friends-and-Loved-Ones) by [kaiju62](https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7678620/kaiju62). Go give it a read!(:
> 
> Thanks for keeping up so far and I hope you enjoy what comes next!
> 
> -CL

Yeong stared at them. Chess pieces. The "relics" they were meant to obtain were _chess pieces_.

Coral had not had second thoughts. She'd snatched what appeared to be the black king without pausing. Yeong gave her a questioning look, and she shrugged.

"I always played black when I was a kid," she explained deftly.

"And always lost," Diesel added with a chuckle, but Coral turned her sharp eyes on him with a glare.

"Only against papa," she answered coldly. "As I recall, I beat _you_ every time."

Yeong was surprised by the vehemence in her reaction, but Diesel only laughed harder. "Well then, I guess we better be a pawn." He picked it up, hefting in his hand experimentally. "Heavy," he said observationally, holding it out for Yeong to look at. "Think it'll fit in your weapon holster?"

He took it and held it in his fist, comparing the thickness. "Maybe."

After a moment of fidgeting, he heard the sound he'd been waiting for: a deep roar that sent birds scattering, not far off now. "Everyone get in your places."

…

Daisy ran with as much air as she had left. Really, how come her part of the plan was always _running_? Not that she hated running. She loved it! But it seemed like her every move was to run as fast as her legs could physically carry her.

And this time she had to keep up with others, too. While she was by no means bad at what she did, Daisy was a little surprised by the speed with which her companions carried themselves. Mallory was the fastest, which kind of surprised her. Her partner had thick muscles, wiry tendons, and what appeared to be a lot of mass in bulk. Yet when she ran, it looked natural, graceful even.

With all her energy, it wasn't surprising that Nettle was the fastest. She moved through the trees as easily as Daisy moved through the skies. Her feet looked as though they didn't touch the ground at all.

And Olive…well if Mallory wasn't slow Olive, with his lean muscles definitely wouldn't be. But even so, Daisy ran two miles daily before breakfast since she was five, and somehow she was still the slowest in the group! How was _that_ fair?

Of course she wasn't _slow._ Daisy didn't run for nothing. Sometimes she ran for fun, mostly for exercise. Now she was running because there was a big hairy monster breathing on her heels. No good incentive like certain death to keep one going when they had a side stitch!

Silently she cursed her brother for his stupid plans. She rued the day they'd ever decided to go to school together. Well she would if there was a specific day in mind, but there wasn't. They always did what the other wanted, always the same. It was their life policy. Still, running because her life depended on it in a strange forest very far from home with no guarantee that she'd even make it into the school even after all this, Daisy was not entirely fond of her brother's plans.

"The clearing is just ahead," Mallory promised, as if the trident-wielding Huntress could read her mind. Daisy wasn't sure how she felt about that. How much of her mind could Mallory read? she wondered with a slight chuckle to her thoughts.

Then Olive spoke, his voice more serious. "Be ready guys. We'll have to do this exactly right."

Daisy would groan if she had the air. _Of course_ they were ready. What was the point of the whole plan if their little foursome wasn't prepared to do their job?

She could feel it now. The air around them was getting a little more fluid, breezing toward a pocket opening in the trees. It was the kind of thing she had learned to recognize from years of flying. In the air it was important to feel the air streaming around you, important to be able to determine what it meant. Rising hot air could create pockets of thinner atmosphere, causing her to drop a little in her flight. Clouds, where the air flowed differently than in dry air, also could cause her to drop if she wasn't going fast enough. It was very important that she know ahead of time.

And so it was now, she could feel the opening ahead of them in a way probably none of her fellows could, which brought her some comfort despite her invariably slower pace.

By some unseen, unspoken signal, the four maneuvered into position, with Olive and Daisy in the center. Nettle was to her left, while Mallory went to Olive's right. The opening hit like a brick wall. Daisy turned inward while Nettle turned away, fanning out to get the flank, but Daisy wasn't concentrating on that. Following Olive's lead, she whirled, bringing her weapon down, clicking off a blast of kinetic energy at the same time his blade. To her immense shock, with a simple click of his thumb, the long blade emitted a high-voltage shock, causing even her to have to jump back.

They landed simultaneously, facing the beast from both sides. The monster was huge, but obviously wounded (smoke rising from where Olive and Daisy had stabbed and blasted it respectively) and very outmatched. No creature, no matter how stupid, would stay for a fight like this one.

So it turned, as if to run away. But then stopped again.

Yeong and the others had closed in, effectively cutting off the Grimm's escape route. They filled rank, closing in with the short faunus girl next to Nettle on Daisy's side, and Yeong's new partner directly across from her.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Then the monster reared its head, roaring louder, with a different edge than before. Daisy recognized the new stance the monster had taken. Cornered, surrounded by superior fighters on all sides, already wounded…to the Ursa, this was no longer a rage-filled something that caused all Grimm to instinctively attack people. No, this was a fight for survival, pure and simple.

And it was clear by the ferocity of the first swipe that it wasn't going to go down easy.

…

The Ursa struck heavy claws sinking into the ground where just a second ago Coral had been. They leaped in time, Coral twisting almost slowly, with a definite grace that came from years of practice. As she swung, duel pistols came out of her belt. She fired, releasing what looked like balls of electricity straight for the beast's belly.

Yeong twirled- there was no other way to describe it –gaining momentum with his spin. He brought the spiked head of his club around, crushing it against the skull of the Ursa with enough force to send it staggering. Its clawed feet stamped dangerously close to his sister, making his heart nearly stop.

Signe and the redhead jumped backwards together. The redhead produced what appeared to be a canon, firing thin needles into the air that tore through the fur of the monster and punctured its skin.

Signe, however, had pulled out the most ridiculous weapon of all time. It was a slingshot. A _slingshot_. Within her weapon was a red orb, almost glowing, and with a _snap_ loud enough for Yeong to hear, she released the ball with a well-aimed shot.

An explosion of fire caused a moment of pure chaos. Yeong could not place where anyone was, or what anyone was doing. It finished in a thick cloud of smoke. He coughed without hearing it, and realized his ears were ringing. His hands found a fistful of grass and he wondered how he'd gotten on the ground.

"Daisy!" he cried soundlessly, looking up and around. He could see Diesel running towards him, firing with his twin blasters as he ran, putting himself directly between Yeong and the Ursa.

Yeong was surprised the amount of focus it took to make Diesel's moving mouth form actual words. "…are you alright?" Diesel's now-familiar voice cut through the high-pitched whine from deep in Yeong's ears. He wished that would stop. It was really annoying. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," he answered clearly, allowing Diesel to help him to his feet. "Where's Daisy? Is everyone okay?"

"That girl's your sister?" Diesel asked, almost with interest. He seemed to abandon the question as soon as it left his mouth. "Yeah, blondie's fine. Everyone's fine. You seem to have gotten the worse of it."

Yeong looked around and saw that Diesel was probably right. Everyone was still firing, still up and fighting. He couldn't see Daisy though, and that concerned him. Signe, he could see, was reposition, readying another round to blast into the beast. This one was blue.

"Where's Daisy?" Yeong asked suddenly.

Diesel either didn't hear him, or wasn't paying attention. "I think Signe's blast irritated it," he was saying. "But it's way tougher than we thought."

"Diesel," Yeong cut in, grabbing his partner's collar and tugging gently. That if anything, got his partner's attention. "We need Daisy."

His partner's eyes glimmered with interest. "Time for her 'crazy awesome power' that you were talking about?"

"Yes," Yeong answered. "We need to find her. Now!"

…

Daisy was, thankfully unharmed. When Yeong saw her, perfectly okay, if a little frazzled, he'd never felt more relief in his life. She followed Diesel, at first with a confused expression, but when her eyes zeroed in on Yeong, her eyes turned to wide distress. She raced forward, her hands reaching out seemingly without thinking about it.

"Yeong!" she called, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he grunted, pulling her towards him. It was instinct when they were in such situations to find each other, to protect each other, to bring themselves together. In her eyes, her brother was hurt, and in his, they were still in danger.

"Can you fight?" she asked. "We're losing here. We need all hands on deck."

"Yeah…" he trailed off, then looked at her again. "Daisy, we need the Juggernaut."

He could sense Diesel's eyes on her, gaging her reaction as Daisy leaned back in revulsion. "I can't!" she wailed. "You know I can't!"

"Yes you can," Yeong reassured her. "You can do anything."

Her eyes glowed with his praise, still looking uncertain. Then the glowing shifted, spreading as her aura was ignited, shimmering blue and white flames that licked over her body. They grew, spreading and taking a new shape, growing higher, higher still…

Diesel cursed, grabbing Yeong's arm and tugging, his eyes wide in awe as he took in Daisy's new shape.

"Is that a _Beowulf_?" Diesel asked, jerking Yeong's arm and, whether Diesel realized it or not, pulling them away from Daisy. "Did she just turn into a _Beowulf_?"

"It's her semblance," Yeong explained as his sister charged forward. "Her aura takes the shape of- "

Diesel interrupted a little wildly. "That's not a semblance!" It's a mutation!"

Yeong shrugged, looking up at his partner and feeling entirely at ease. "She's got a really powerful aura. With lot of practice, she can manifest it into a Grimm-like monster of her choice. But it takes a lot of energy and if she gets hurt…" he trailed off, wondering what kind of danger he had just put his sister in.

He watched his sister, crossing his arms uncomfortably. Around him the gang closed ranks, coming together in the face of the unknown.

As for Daisy, well, she was quite the fighter. Her Juggernaut snarled, then lunged. It was almost painful to watch them tussle. The Ursa was undeniably bigger, but it was slow and clunky while Daisy was quick and smart. They watched her claws dig into its fur as she pulled herself upward, biting at its neck.

Signe kneeled down, pulling out her blue marble and putting lining up her slingshot. Yeong realized, looking at it, that the marble was actually unrefined dust. He wondered how long it took her to craft the crystalized material into the correct size and shapes for her to use in combat, if she bought them somewhere or had them custom-made. With a snap Signe released the blue orb. It soared through the air, cracking into landing on the beast and encasing it's legs in ice. It was an impressive feat, considering the size of the Ursa.

With the monster distracted, Daisy found her mark, digging her teeth into the tendons of his throat. That was when the monster shook itself at its hardest. Daisy flew, smacking into a tree with a muted whine, her Juggernaut dissipating into the air and leaving just her. Her eyes were wide, distant, but open and fluttering, staring blankly ahead.

Yeong ran without meaning to, feeling footsteps on his rear. From behind, Diesel lined up his fusion canons and fired at the same time that Coral fired hers. They met midair, mutating into a weird, electrified blast that struck the Ursa with unmatched power. The combined shots did what so far none of them had been able to alone.

For a moment, the creature lay there, staring at them with its glowing red eyes. Then it faded into smoke, leaving nothing of itself behind.

Yeong crouched by his sister's side, pulling at her arm gently while the girl behind him exclaimed, "Daisy!" It seemed to be the only thing she had to say.

"Ugh," she moaned, looking directly at her brother. "I will never forgive you for this."

Relief flooded him. Her blue eyes were already clearing up, her breath evening out. "I know," he said. "But hey, we won."

"Yeah," she muttered, pulling herself to her feet. "All thanks to me."

"It was _my_ plan," Yeong retorted, helping her.

"Olive's plan."

"Edited by me."

She sighed, seemingly giving up. "Okay. Nice plan." She smiled, looking at him. "Let's get the stupid relics and go back to campus."

…

Daisy waited in a long cluster of students, going up four at a time as their names were called. Because of Daisy's flight, they were the first to find the relics, and subsequently the first to get back to the cliffside.

For being an initiation to a combat school, Daisy figured they would have been told _something_ about the ceremony. Instead, they were told to wait and once all the successful students had arrived, they began to announce teams from the stage, calling students and electing one to lead them.

"Team Apricot," Ozpin was saying now. Daisy looked at the grouping. APCT was how it was spelled. "Lead by Amethyst Earl."

There was a polite smattering of applause as the new Team greeted one another, walking offstage with smiles. Once they were gone, Ozpin continued.

"Coral Tuskiko, Nettle Sting, Olive Jieung, and Signe Brown," he said solemnly. Daisy watched their names appear on the screen in order, spelling out ONCS. "You selected the black royal pieces. From now on, the four of you will work together as Team ONCS." He pronounced it as Onyx. "Lead by Olive Jieung."

Daisy clapped loudly, cheering her friends. And after everything they'd been through today, she thought she could consider them friends. Olive smiled encouragingly at his new team as they walked off. They turned and waved to where Daisy was waiting beside Mallory. She offered a thumbs up in return.

She was so busy concentrating on her friends that she was jolted when she heard her name called. "Daisy Nolang, Diesel Lloyd, Mallory Greene, and Yeong Nolang."

The four of them. In an instant it made sense to her. She and Yeong were going to be on the same team, even if they couldn't be partners. It what they got thinking alike as they did.

She walked forward, holding herself with pride and dignity. This was the moment where they were officially initiated into the school as a team. She needed to act professional, even if she was more excited than she'd been even at her graduation from River Point.

"You four collected the white pawn pieces," Ozpin said. It was weird standing so close to the headmaster. She wondered if she'd have any classes with- _focus, Daisy!_ "From now on, you will work together as Team Diamond." She couldn't stop her eyes from flashing upward to the board, where their team name was on display. DYMD. With another jolt she realized her name was first. Did that mean she was going to be team leader?

She felt a moment of anxiety as Professor Ozpin continued on. "You will be lead by Yeong Nolang."

For a second all she felt was surprise. Wasn't his name supposed to come first if he was the leader? But then she realized she didn't care what order their names were in. Sweet relief shook her. Oh how thankful was she that _she_ wasn't supposed to lead them!

Her brother looked absolutely shocked. His jaw was dropped, his eyes wide. Daisy tugged gently at his arm, pulling him back. "Congratulations, brother!" she exclaimed excitedly, trying to break his reverie.

"He turned his head, looking at her, his eyes round. With an internal groan Daisy thought _this cannot be good_.

But their time on stage was up, and they could not continue standing their like idiots. "Let's go," Mallory said, putting her hand on his shoulder. Yeong looked at her. Something in her cheerful smile must have gotten to him, as his expression seemingly resolved. The four of them carefully made their way offstage to make room for the new group. They'd gotten as far as to where Olive and the others- Team ONCS, Daisy thought with glee – were waiting for them when she stopped.

"Arya Tolbert, Raina Knight, Song Uccelo, and Titan Areleous," Ozpin said, continuing with the ceremony. Daisy whirled so fast there was an audible click in her neck.

"Guys," she said, tugging on Yeong's sleeve in one hand and Olive's in the other. "It's Arya!"

The redheaded warrior was standing taller than all of her new team members, positively beaming as Ozpin continued. "You four retrieved the black knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall be known as Team STAR, lead by Song Uccelo."

Song was evidentially the girl in the front of the line. Daisy recognized her with a start as the girl in the pink kimono yesterday with the long black bangs. The girl at the end of the line with the blue shirt and short black hair must have been Raina, leaving the tall, broad man to be Titan.

Arya exchanged smiles and knowing looks with her new teammates, leaving Daisy to wonder what they had endured together in the forest. Whatever it was, it was enough for the four of them to already have formed the bond of a team, with a deep, trusting look already in place in their eyes.

Before, Daisy would have said that it was not possible for people to form trust that deep in one day, let alone a few hours. But looking down the lineup of her own new team, where Yeong stood clapping politely for the others, Mallory was grinning from ear to ear, and Diesel was watching with polite interest, she realized that she could believe it now. She'd done the same thing.


	10. Healing Words

There was a feast after the ceremony in which the new teams were allowed to mingle, getting to know one another while their stuff was taken to their dorms. The food was spectacular, more filling than anything Daisy was used to. The benches were cramped against the tables, and they were hard and uncomfortable. Still, Daisy would not have changed a thing about it.

It didn't seem entirely possible to cram three full teams at one table. Raina, a tall girl with black hair, completely buzzed expect for a tuft of bangs, somehow managed to push two tables side-by-side, making ample room for everyone. They all sat, the tallest at the ends.

"There's no way," Nettle joked. "You can't do it!"

"Watch me!" Daisy shot back. With a running start, Daisy took a flying leap. Her attempt to vault the wooden bench ended in failure though, as instead of making it into the seat, Daisy simply face-planted into the table.

"No, I think you're right," Diesel said while everybody laughed. "That ended perfectly. So smooth."

Daisy's only reply was to throw her water at him.

All in all, it was a pretty good night. Everyone had a fun time, swapping stories and reliving their experiences during initiation. The newly formed Team STAR seemed to have had just as much fun during their time in the forest as Daisy and her new friends had. As Raina loudly recalled their events in gripping detail, Daisy reacted along with everyone else, gasping at all the right moments. Nettle even squealed at one point.

The only one who didn't seem to be as into it as everyone else was Yeong, Daisy noticed. He laughed along with everyone else, but it never quite reached his eyes.

After dinner they went back to their dorm, somewhere called Easton Hall. Team STAR had the same building, but were located two floors down. ONCS was in another dorm building called Beacon West. It was farther away from the scholarly buildings, but closer to the mess hall.

Daisy was hoping to talk to him there, but it became apparent upon entering the dorm that this wasn't going to happen. First off, everyone on their team was sharing this dorm, which meant that Mallory and Diesel were going to be there. The second part was that they were sharing a dorm with just enough room for their beds. There was barely any room to walk, let alone put their stuff.

The room was not quite a square, the length being a little longer than the depth. Four beds were crammed into the space, with not even a foot of space between one bed and the next. Against each side wall was a single desk, presumably for people to share, and next to each desk was a door. Their stuff had been piled against the front walls, left for them to decide where to put it and what to do with it.

It was a moment before any of them so much as twitched. Instead they gaped into their room for an unnecessary amount of time. They were exhausted from their initiation, grimy from their day in the woods, and sleepy from the feast. It was apparent that despite all of this, despite the late hour, their day still wasn't down.

"Okay," Mallory said slowly. "What should we do first."

"Let's pick beds," Yeong decided, then abruptly glanced between his teammates. "I mean if that's okay with you guys…"

But Mallory wasn't listening. "Girls get this side!" she said, grabbing Daisy's arm and jerking her towards the closest beds. Daisy glanced back to see her brother looked stunned while Diesel was simply shrugging.

"But," she protested, then stopped.

Mallory turned to face her, concerned. "What is it?"

Daisy hesitated. She and Yeong had shared a room since she was a little kid. It felt weird and exclusive to choose a side simply for the girls. Then again, Mallory had not said anything about having siblings. As far as Daisy knew, she didn't have any at all. She was probably not used to sharing a room with someone of the opposite sex. While Daisy was totally comfortable with it, as most everyone who had grown up in a similar situation to hers would be, Mallory probably wasn't.

"Nothing."

…

It was early morning by the time they were finally finished unpacking. Yeong had their schedule, and they all groaned when they found out they had class starting bright and early. Okay 9am wasn't actually that early, but to Yeong and Daisy, who were 3 hours ahead of their usual schedule, it felt pretty early.

Mallory had insisted on rearranging the room to create more space. They had pushed the desk against the front wall, setting the beds in the corners. Mallory slept facing the window while Daisy curled up against the wall. They had found in Diesel's back a blackout curtain, which they hung against the window, much to his relief. Apparently there were entire _months_ in the far north were no sunlight got through. He didn't like the constant light. Mallory pointed out that on the other months of the year the sun never set in the north, but Diesel strangely didn't hear this logic.

They hung a sheet up between the two halves of the room, which in Daisy's mind was going a bit far, but once again Mallory insisted. She said it gave them more privacy. Daisy wanted to explain to her that Yeong, being Daisy's brother, wouldn't be intruding on their privacy, but then thought better of it. Yeong might be Daisy's twin, but he certainly was not related to Mallory, and once again Daisy had to remind herself her Mistralean partner probably hadn't ever shared a coed room before.

It turned out the doors in the bedrooms were closets. Mallory proceeded to hang up all of her clothes, even though they were drawing close to 3 o'clock in the morning. There were two bathrooms per floor, the closest one being across the hall. Yeong and Diesel went off to shower while Daisy helped Mallory set up her posters. They were up until nearly 4 in the morning.

Because of their exhausting day previous and their subsequently long night, they almost slept through their first class. Usually, a Huntsmen in training took classes depending on what they wanted to do, and where they wanted to base out of. But because they were freshman, each team was assigned classes together, as they would take these "basic" courses until at least their third year.

The entire day Yeong seemed off, not nearly as spritely as usual. It wasn't until they got to combat class that Daisy realized the depth of it.

They were assigned lockers for the weapons. This made Daisy really uncomfortable. She hardly went anywhere without Akita-Ilma strung over her shoulder. Putting it in a locker with mobile capabilities didn't sit well with her.

After getting their assigned locker, they went straight at it. They were paired off for combat, just trying to land hits. Daisy was partnered with Signe while Mallory was handed off to a tall blonde-haired girl a little too eager for the fight. Far off, Diesel was facing his own cousin, both looking rather smug, and finally Yeong was facing off Song.

"This is my weapon," she said, holding it up. "I call it Mahima."

Daisy remembered her firing it at the Ursa during initiation, although she hadn't gotten a good look at it. It was a slingshot, obviously hand carved. It was deceptively simplistic. Any Huntsmen would scoff at such a thing being used in combat, but Daisy remembered its firepower.

"These are my shots," she said, tugging at her hip pouch. Inside were glowing marbles in a variety of colors and sizes. Signe carefully lifted a red one between her first two fingers, holding it up for Daisy to get a better look.

"Is that dust?" Daisy asked, examining it carefully.

"Unrefined and crystallized," Signe admitted proudly. "I have to carve them myself."

"Wow," Daisy breathed, remembering the extreme firepower that even one small part of unrefined crystallized dust could hold. Suddenly she was infinitely glad they were only doing to hand-to-hand today…

Daisy's weapon was a close-quarters combat weapon. She had never been exceptional at either hand-to-hand or long-range, but she'd felt in her heart that close-quarters was the way to go. There was simply more damage that could be done that way, plus she liked the physical activity of it. It was where her passion lie.

Now she'd faced enemies close-range before, but never one quite like this. Signe had a long-range weapon, but couldn't use it on live opponents in situations such as these. That meant that most of her life had been spent on close-quarters combat sessions, such as this one. While Daisy easily outmatched her, as Daisy consistently and only ever fought close-quarters, Signe was quite the opponent nonetheless.

It was after the second round. Signe got in a good hit. She smiled. Daisy dodged her next hit, then parried the third, twisting Signe's arm so she could get leverage. Undeterred, Signe moved with her, twirling as if it were nothing more than a dance. Daisy smiled as her new friend broke free, her wolf ear twitching and a smirk crossing her face.

At that moment, they heard a sickening crunch, both snapping their heads around to find the source. Yeong was on the ground, rubbing his tailbone from where Song had managed to throw him into the ground.

Everyone had stopped now, looking over to watch him pull himself to his feet. Daisy was not worried about his tailbone. Sometimes, if you were unprepared, you could get injured in training. It would heal very quickly, probably was already mending itself. No, it was the look on his face when he realized everyone was looking at him that concerned her. A smidgen of panic followed by deep gloom morphed his features in a way she did not like.

Professor Goodwitch called the match then, telling everyone to pack up and be on their way. It was a little early, but Daisy had the feeling that it was a one-time treat, not to be confused for her real attitude towards "slacking".

Yeong was out the door faster than anyone else.

"Lunchtime!" Signe chirped merrily. "Are you coming? Daisy?" she added when Daisy did not answer.

"Right," Daisy murmured, hardly paying attention. "I'll- I'm coming, just- go one without me, okay?"

She didn't wait for a response before hightailing it out the door in search of her brother.

Yeong was in the first room she looked for him in. He sat a desk, staring out the window with that strange look on his face. Daisy knew that look. It was the look stress, pressure, and fear.

"Yeong," she asked, putting her hand on his shoulder, connecting them physically in that way she knew would calm him down. "What's wrong?"

He hesitated, looking anywhere but her, she realized. It was part of his routine whenever he didn't want to tell her something. "You should be our leader, Daisy. Not me," he said at last.

Daisy stopped, looking at him. An understanding blossomed in her chest. Suddenly all of his odd behavior made sense. Yeong was scared of his new position, was ashamed of himself because he honestly believed this. How could she have missed that? Of course he was nervous and scared of being the leader! It was so _Yeong._

"No Yeong," she said, firming her grip on his shoulder and shaking gently. "Professor Ozpin chose _you_ , not me. There's gotta be a reason for that."

He jumped down, looking at her slightly hysterical. "You're the confident one between the two of us, not me! You're the one with the awesome semblance that can take out giant monsters, not me! You're the one with the stronger aura, _not me._ "

"But Yeong, that doesn't mean anything," she answered. "Out there, in the field, you were the one with the plan. It was your idea that took out the Grimm. Compared to that, I'm just firepower."

"A leader should be able to fight his own battles," Yeong argued vehemently.

"A leader should be able to inspire his teammates," Daisy insisted.

"I don't inspire anyone," Yeong muttered, looking away.

A new voice from the doorway spoke, "That's not true." They turned. There, leaning against the door frame on opposite sides, were Mallory and Diesel. When they effectively had Yeong and Daisy's attention, both new teammates peeled themselves from the wall to approach. It was Mallory who had spoken, her green eyes reassuring.

"Maybe not the 'poster with a deep quote on it' type inspirational," Mallory continued, smiling reassuringly. "But in that I have every confidence in you as my leader."

"Besides," Diesel added thoughtfully. "You don't have to tell us what to do all the time. Just help us think dynamically, as a team. Your experiences with your twin will definitely help with that."

"Yeah," Daisy said enthusiastically. "You've always kept me in line!"

Yeong stared at the three of them, side-by-side, practically touching, all three beaming at him, encouraging him. Daisy could see when his resolve solidified. He nodded stiffly, looking from one to the next: sister, teammate, partner.

"I will do everything I can to lead you right," he promised steadily. Daisy smiled broadly, feeling his conviction in his every word.

"We know," Diesel responded, then continued after only the briefest pause. "But can we go get lunch now? I'm starving."

Daisy couldn't help but notice Yeong laughing with the rest of them.


	11. Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short! I hope you like it anyway.
> 
> CL

School was never-ending, Daisy realized after a month went by faster than any had at River Point. It was as though her life had taken on a new pattern, one she was both unfamiliar with and completely adjusted to. One day her teammates were reassuring her brother that he'd make an excellent leader, the next first arrivals were coming in for the Vytal Festival Tournament still two full semesters off.

The first arrivals were from Vacuo. This was not surprising, given the unforgiving climate of Vacuo and the free room and board to those coming for the tournament. Okay so it wasn't totally free. Unless you were a competitor from another school.

Despite having grown up there, Daisy did not recognize any of the competitors who arrived on the first boat in. When she asked Yeong, he as well did not seem to know anyone. Many of them had probably come from other places in the world to study at Shade.

"Look at them," he said, pointing out an orange-haired boy with cream colored clothing to Daisy one class. "Don't any of them look familiar?"

"Not one," Daisy answered him. "But then again, Mallory didn't recognize any of the Haven Academy students either."

"Yeah, all three of them."

"Guys," Mallory interrupted as they entered the cafeteria. "Stop arguing."

Daisy scoffed. "We're not arguing. That's how we love."

"Still," Mallory said, giving them a side glare. "I don't like it when you guys fight."

"You do argue a lot," Diesel put in as he folded is long legs under the table.

"We do not!"

"And when you fight," Mallory continued as if Daisy had not spoken. "It's like we're not even here."

Daisy and Yeong exchanged a look. "We don't mean it to be that way," Yeong said guiltily. "It's just that we- "

"Grew up together and did everything together, we know," Mallory said, not looking up. "Look the issue isn't always that you're on the same page. It's that we're never included."

Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but her words cut off before she had time to find them. Their other friends had arrived, placing themselves around her teammates seemingly oblivious to their conversation. She noticed right away that not everyone was present.

"You guys are early," Coral commented as she seated herself at the edge of the table, shoving Signe further into the seat as she did so. The excitable wolf faunus didn't seem to mind though. As she slid further down, Daisy noticed her snag two cookies off of Coral's plate.

"Yeah, Peach let us out early," Daisy answered. "Where's Olive?"

"He had to stay behind to talk to Goodwitch," Signe said, shoving Coral's cookies in her mouth whole. From over her shoulder, Daisy noticed Coral look at her plate, then glare at Signe in annoyance. Signe ignored Coral and continued speaking through the cookies in her full mouth, spraying crumbs everywhere. "He was having problems with his weapon."

"Yeah, and now he has to miss lunch," Nettle pointed out. "I told him he was silly for missing the best time of day."

"Other than breakfast and dinner," Coral commented dryly.

Nettle sat up a little straighter. "And dessert!"

Arya leaned forward, looking straight at Signe. "Speaking of food and fun," she said smoothly. "I was thinking of going into town this weekend to see if there are any good restaurants. I'd hate to go by myself. Wanna come along?"

Daisy could tell that Arya was rather nervous asking this. It was as though she wanted others to _think_ the answer didn't matter to her, but clearly it did. _hmm_ , she thought, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes.

"We can all go!" Nettle said, clearly oblivious to the real interaction going on.

"I'd like to explore a little," Raina admitted.

Arya sighed long and deep, the light in her eyes dimming a little as the rest of the table chimed in. Daisy shot her a sympathetic smile.

"That's it!" Mallory said suddenly, looking at Daisy with excitement. "It's brilliant!"

"What?" Nettle asked, pouncing on what was certainly going to be good gossip.

Mallory's eyes gleamed. "I've got a great idea!"

Yeong chuckled. "Wanna cue us in on this brilliant plan of yours?"

She almost looked hurt. "No really, it's a great idea."

"What is it?" Daisy asked, hoping she was showing the appropriate amount of enthusiasm.

Mallory held up her hands. "Team bonding!" she said it as if it were obvious, and Daisy had to admit, once it was out there, it kind of was. "We can do something together."

"Umm Mallory," Daisy said, trying not to ruin her good mood. "We already do things together. Like classes, and studying, and eating, and sleeping. And basically we already do everything together."

Mallory flapped her arms, waving away the thought. "No no, I mean like outside of school. Just the two of us. Like Yeong and Diesel can do something that they like together, and Daisy and I can do something fun together. It's a great way to get to know each other and catch up, like partners."

Daisy glanced at her brother, sharing a look of warm surprise.

"That's not a terrible idea," Yeong admitted. "Why don't we try it this weekend?"

"That's fine with me," Diesel said.

"Cool," Daisy agreed.

"Awesome!" Mallory said, clenching her fist in victory. "It's a date!"

Daisy saw Arya wince.


	12. Partners Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Enjoy this next installment of DYMD!
> 
> CL

"This is your idea of a good time?" Daisy called up breathlessly. The path had taken a rather sharp turn, and Mallory seemed to be clinging to a rockface above her rather than ahead of her.

"Absolutely!" Mallory called back teasingly. "Why? Not getting tired, are ya?"

Daisy clutched a side-stitch. "Of course not," she wheezed. "Why would I be tired? We've only gone up about three thousand feet in the last two miles!"

Mallory leaned down so they were face to face. "Four thousand," she chirped merrily. Daisy couldn't help but notice that her partner did not appear to be at all physically strained.

"Great," Daisy gasped, glaring up at her. "Only when I thought when you suggested we go hiking, you meant like on a trail through the woods, not climbing a mountain on an animal path!"

"I grew up on the cliffs of Mistral," she replied through laughter. "Climbing is kind of my thing."

"Awesome," Daisy muttered, still out of breath. "Thanks for the advance notice."

"Don't worry Daisy," Mallory said seriously. "We've only got about six more miles to go! I picked a relatively short trail for your first time."

Daisy glanced up, seeing that the path went pretty much straight up a wall. She groaned, clutching her gut in anticipation. Mallory laughed.

…

Not knowing what else to do, Diesel and Yeong decided to simply go into town and get lunch. Arya's suggestion had been a good one, and it was fairly typical as far as 'hanging out' went. They hadn't spent a long time searching for somewhere to go, but simply chose a small café in Vale to get coffee. Unsurprisingly, Diesel took his black no sugar, and steaming hot. Yeong ordered a white chocolate mocha because he liked his sweeter than sugar.

The two sat a small table together, neither speaking and not making eye contact. Diesel seemed to have no inclination to look around or explore, despite being just as new to Vale as Yeong was. He sat a little hunched, occasionally sipping his coffee while Yeong looked around with wide eyes. This place was too interesting not to look. Where he'd grown up in Vacuo, it was sparse, spread out, with little towns peppering the landscape and nothing but wilderness in between. Here it was condensed, many people crammed into as little space as possible. Who wouldn't find it interesting?

"So," Diesel said, surprising him. Yeong whipped his head around to look at his partner. "You and Daisy are twins, huh."

It wasn't a question but Yeong answered it anyway. "Uh huh," he sounded nervously.

Diesel glanced at him over his cup. "Brother and sister."

"Yup." Yeong popped his p.

"But you're identical twins?"

This one was definitely a question, and not the one that Diesel was asking.

Yeong shifted so he was sitting facing Diesel, wondering how best to answer. He chose his words carefully. "Let's just say that we started out more identical than we are now."

"Huh," Diesel intoned disinterestedly, turning back to his mug. Yeong couldn't tell if there was more he wanted to ask, but waited with bated breath to see if he would. Finally, "So Daisy." His eyes slid up from his coffee to look at Yeong again. "She's…"

"A girl."

"Powerful," Diesel finished, flashing him a puzzled look, but did not ask for explanation. Embarrassment filled Yeong as he realized that Diesel had changed subjects without him realizing. "That thing in the forest?"

"Her semblance," Yeong answered, pretending that his embarrassing outburst had not happened. "We call it her Juggernaut."

"That's certainly an appropriate title," Diesel said over his mug, sipping on the last of his coffee loudly. "Has she always been able to do that?"

"Well it's her semblance, so no."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, not quite looking at one another.

After a long moment, Diesel tried again, seemingly determined to make conversation. "So, got any girlfriends back home?"

Yeong's cheeks burned. "Umm…no."

"Boyfriends?"

"Yeah, none of those either," Yeong answered, shaking his head in quick jerks. Great, now what was he supposed to say? "Uh…you?"

The look Diesel gave him was purely disdainful as he clapped his cup onto the table. When it became clear that Yeong was waiting for an answer, Diesel supplied a dry, "No." and left it at that.

After what felt like a very tense pause in which Yeong silently cursed himself his social awkwardness, Diesel spoke again, "What about Daisy? She got any of them boyfriends waiting for her at home?"

His sister. This was definitely an easier topic. "Oh no," he said in relief. "No one can tolerate her extreme work ethic long enough to stick around."

Diesel certainly seemed interested in that. "Really? No one? I find that hard to believe."

"Well, she's always been so focused on school and becoming a Huntress that she- Wait," he stopped, realization dawning on him. Diesel stared at him as if frozen. "Why are you so interested anyway?"

"I'm not!" Diesel answered a bit too strongly. "I'm just surprised is all."

"You like her, don't you?" Yeong asked gleefully, unable to stop the smile from forming on his face. "You like Daisy!"

"I do not!" Diesel argued quickly. Too quickly. "I mean sure she's interesting and sometimes I find her jokes funny but that does not mean- " he became a bit more vehement as Yeong started laughing. "- that I like her like that in any way."

"Of course not," Yeong chuckled sarcastically.

Diesel spluttered, "I mean we're teammates of course I'm- I'm not saying that I- look, I'm just making small talk, okay? You're the one making this weird."

"Sure," Yeong said, only just managing to contain his laughter and looking at his partner again. Diesel's cheeks were pale pink and he wouldn't meet his eyes. The Atlesian turned his head away and pounding his fist on the table in obvious embarrassment.

Yeong couldn't resist another chuckle.

…

Daisy was ready to strangle Mallory by the end of the hike. Or she would have been if she had not been so tired. Those last six miles had been hell. No, really just the last five them, which had not been hiking as promised but rather jumping from rock to rock to get up. 'Rock-hopping', as Mallory had called it.

And of course she'd forbidden the use of weapons to get up because "ammo is not cheap" and "it isn't that bad anyway". Daisy had seriously considered just leaving when she'd said that bit.

Now they were at the top and Daisy was quite tired. Then she looked up.

"Nothing more fulfilling than a great hike!" Mallory said, but it was just background to what Daisy was seeing in front of her now.

The view was spectacular to say the least. Daisy had seen quite astonishing views from the air, but there was something about standing at the ledge, looking down to see craggy cliffs below and an endless horizon. They could see Vale, a smoggy glittering wonder, breathtaking and somehow perfectly comparable to the lush greenery surrounding it. It really was beautiful.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Yup. See Daisy, hiking is fun!"

Mallory paused, her smile faltering as Daisy pulled Akita-Ilma off her shoulder. "Daisy no!" she called, but it was too late. With an astonishing leap, Daisy jumped straight off the edge of the plateau, her glider catching her and, with a slight burst of the dust engine, taking off straight into the sky.

Left behind, Mallory pouted, kicking a rock in frustration. "Great."


	13. A Day on the Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Enjoy my latest update(: Feel free to leave a review! We're almost at the end now. Two more chapters to go!
> 
> -CL

It was a Sunday, and Vale was teeming with those relaxing after an eventful Saturday and not looking forward to Monday. It was not a very exciting afternoon. Most people were lazily going about their business, some pausing to examine shop windows, others focused on their scrolls.

"You're going to love this little restaurant!" Signe chattered, skipping down the sidewalk with Arya by her side. They looked comical together, tall redhead strolling casually with short wiry-haired faunus girl skipping merrily. "It's Mistralean food. The owner is actually _from_ Mistral, or close by it. It's authentic!" her hands came up, gesturing on the final word as though to emphasis how important that was.

"I'm sure it's great," Arya responded. Her smile was so genuine and dazzling that Signe couldn't help but respond likewise.

"You can show me your favorite foods from home!"

Favorite foods. What an easy subject! Arya took it and ran with it. "Oh sure! I love these deep friend rice balls. You can get them in all kinds of flavors. Some people really like them spicy, but I like mine in a rich peanut sauce with cilantro. It goes great with chicken."

The small faunus's smile became rather fixed. "Um," she said awkwardly. "I'm actually allergic to peanuts."

Arya froze, dismay flashing briefly across her face followed by worry. "I'm sorry," she coughed out. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Signe said easily, clapping Arya's shoulder with her hand. It was quite a stretch. "I like spicy."

Arya smiled, clearly relieved, and the two of them continued down the sidewalk.

The building looked like a Mistralean construction, which Arya loved, actually. Wooden with sharp edges. It felt like a small piece of home, out of place surrounded by so many buildings in the flashy yet tacky structures that Vale favored.

There was a menu in the window, which was highly convenient for figuring out what foods they would want to eat. They did not have a wide variety, nor did they have the deep-fried rice balls that Arya loved so much. But they did have a couple of delicious meals one might get in a street restaurant in Mistral. Arya had decided on a soup made with some vegetables that were most certainly imported, and helped Signe decide on a club sandwich. Smiling, the atmosphere less tense now than it had been, the two girls walked in.

The bell above the door chimed to signal their arrival. It was a seat yourself diner, so Arya and Signe made their way to a lonesome table against the wall where they would have prime access to look out the window onto the streets.

A young man with a gray moustache approached their table, not looking up from his pad as he went. "Hello ladies!" he greeted warmly, "How may I- "

He cut off, finally looking up from his notepad to see the two girl's smiling at him, Signe's wolf ears pricked in his direction. They watched in surprise as his color changed, paling from pleasant plum to stark white.

"I think there's a misunderstanding," he said coldly, glaring from Arya then over to Signe. "We don't serve your kind here."

Signe's ears drew back and down in a distinctly sad manner. "What?"

"Faunus," the man grumbled. "Get out."

"You can't kick her out like that!" Arya said, jumping up. "She has just as much a right to eat her as the rest of us!"

"Yeah, I used to eat here all the time," Signe added, looking at him in shock.

The man's moustache twitched in distaste. "That was before the White Fang started stealing from every Dust Shop in the city. I can't have your kind scaring away my customers. No Faunus allowed."

The two girls stood there, eyes wide, jaws agape. Around the diner the patrons were watching with unease, some looking downright scared, others looking angry. At last, Arya unstuck.

"Let's go, Signe."

Signe nodded, following her from a distance. Her eyes were hurt, her ears drawn back. Together, the two girls walked out of the diner and moved away down the street, the air between them silent and tense again.

"I'm sorry we weren't able to eat there, Signe," Arya said after a while. "I'm sure there are other places in the city we can eat. You can show me your favorite Vale food!"

Her attempts to cheer the faunus girl up were not met with great success. "Yeah," Signe said quietly. "Maybe next time? Let's just go back to campus."

Arya nodded, frowning but not arguing.

…

Things seemed to change over the next couple of days, and not for the better. While Signe was not actively avoiding her, Arya had a bad feeling about whatever was going on between them. She never once mentioned their would-be date, and didn't ask to go out again.

Arya wasn't sure what to do to salvage the situation. Should she suggest another date? Should she talk to Signe about it? No, clearly Signe didn't want to talk about it with her, otherwise she would have already.

Her other teammates did not ask after that first day. When Arya had entered their room at the end of the day, they were waiting for her.

"How was it?" Raina asked, turning from her desk to smile at her.

"Well…" Arya struggled to find the right words. "It could have gone better."

"What happened?" Song turned from where she'd been recalibrating her weapon to look. Even Titan, the goliath, looked at her with interest.

"It was…let's not talk about it." She winced as she echoed Signe's own words.

Song did not seem disturbed. "If that's what you think is best," she'd said, turning back to her work. Arya tried not to notice, but couldn't ignore Titan and Raina sharing a long look out of the corner of her eye.

Now, almost a week later, they hadn't brought it up again. Nor had Signe. And both those things bothered Arya beyond belief.

Not that she didn't appreciate her teammates giving her space. It was clear that they cared about her, were probably worried and definitely curious. They were giving her her space, minding their own business. It was extraordinarily kind of them, their distant concern.

Signe on the other hand just wasn't talking to her at all. At lunch she sat as far away as possible and, what with living in a different building, managed to avoid any direct contact. This fact scared Arya quite a bit. It had never been her intention to push Signe away.

One week. It came and went so fast.

Arya was walking to her locker from the track. Well there wasn't an official "track" so to speak. But there was a running path that crossed all of campus. Running was a great way to blow off steam and clear her head. It had been her easiest coping mechanism since she was just old enough to put her feet forward without falling.

She pushed open the door, stepping into the changing room. There was a less-than-painful _thump_ on her breastplate followed by a muffled _oomph_! Apparently she had tried to enter right as someone had tried to step out.

"Sorry," Signe said, then cut off, her eyes meeting Arya's for the first time all week.

For a long moment, that's all they did: stand there and stare at each other like a couple of idiots. Finally Signe seemed to snap out of it.

"Sorry," she said quickly, brushing past Arya seemingly in a hurry.

"Signe," Arya tried, but the little faunus girl was already gone.

Arya stood staring after her, feeling hurt erupt in her chest not like before. What she really wanted was for Signe to _talk_ to her about it. Give her some kind of sign. Whether or not she realized it, Signe had just given Arya a message.

Just not a good one.

She sat down on the nearest bench and removed her first shoe, her thoughts on the girl probably just now leaving the building. Signe had not seemed angry, or hurtful. In fact, Signe had seemed almost embarrassed.

Arya froze.

That was it, wasn't it? Signe was embarrassed by what had happened. Once Arya thought it she couldn't banish the thought. Signe was humiliated, probably wondered what Arya thought.

A mixture of emotions filled her. Relief was the first, overwhelming. Signe didn't hate her. Signe cared what she thought! That meant something. The second feeling was indignation. Did Signe really think so little of her that the wolf-girl wondered if Arya was judging _her_ for that? The last was frustration. What kind of life had Signe lived before Beacon that she couldn't trust Arya to stick around after what had happened?

Well if that's the way this world was, Arya only had one option. She was going to make it better.

A plan was beginning to develop in her mind. This was not something she could do by herself. She'd need the help of her teammates and other friends to accomplish this next goal. They would help her, she already knew. Who wouldn't?


	14. A Night In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Final chapter!(: with an additional epilogue to be added next week. Enjoy!
> 
> -CL

Signe frowned. As far as species targeted by a world filled with hatred for her very existence, Signe liked to think she was not very paranoid. In fact, Signe liked to think she was quite understanding in a world of people who hated her species. There weren't many who could simply walk away from that kind of hate.

But now…ever since that shop-owner had kicked her out of his store…well paranoid might be the correct world to describe her situation.

The thing was, deny it as much as they wanted, Signe was certain her friends were acting differently around her.

Okay that might be going a little far. At least they weren't acting rude or treating her any different during lunch, or sparring, or class, or studying. But she couldn't shake the feeling that they were _hiding_ something, purposefully excluding her for their own personal reasons.

She tried not to take it personally. Certainly _Signe_ had not told anybody about the incident and the Mistral restaurant, and didn't think that Arya had either. Whatever it was that they were hiding was, apparently, not her business.

So she ignored it as best she could. Pretended that nothing was wrong, even when her teammates stopped talking when she returned from personal training.

She stopped in the doorway, looking from one face to another. Nettle was sitting on her bed (to the middle right of the room) talking Daisy, who was oddly sitting on their floor. Where Daisy had come from and why she was there was a total mystery to Signe.

"Hey Signe," Olive said from his desk, where he had evidently been working. "How was PT?"

"Pretty okay," she said, walking forward to drop her stuff on her own bed, the one against the wall on the far left. Signe had insisted on sleeping in the corner at the beginning of the year, which kind of worked because Coral liked being able to look out the window at the stars. "What are you all up to?" she added, expecting the answer.

"Nothing fun," Olive said, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "Just studying."

"Actually," Nettle interrupted, taking that moment to stand up. "Daisy and I were going to go to her room to study. See you later?"

Signe frowned deeper. Once upon a time, Nettle might have invited her to join. It was subtle, not something that most people would register. Old Signe would have thought that it was because she was clearly in need of a shower, might have joked about stinking something awful. As it was, she simply nodded with a soundless grunt of acquiescence.

She quietly stepped out not long after to head to the showers. It had taken some getting used to, sharing bathrooms with the entire community, including opposite sexes. Granted it was a common occurrence in public places for people of all genders to share one big bathroom. However Beacon was _not_ a public school, and showering was such a private thing. It made Signe a little uncomfortable just how open the bathrooms were.

Maybe she _was_ being paranoid. After all, showering after her personal training was part of her daily routine. She'd established from the very beginning that exercise was followed exclusively by shower time. Nettle _knew_ this. Surely she was just being polite by leaving Signe to it. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding _something_ from her. Even Daisy, usually so enthusiastic and attentive had avoided her gaze…

The shower ended in a thick cloud of steam. Signe liked her showers hotter than the temperature of the sun. It was her style to have the water hot enough to turn her skin red wherever it touched, which mean the mirrors were very foggy when she stepped out.

Oh well. She had a full length mirror mounted on the back of their bedroom door she could use to brush through her hair. Not that it would do any good. Her hair was thick and stubborn. It did one entire thing, and she usually _just_ managed to get it to stay in her pigtails. After all these years of doing only that, it wasn't as hard to get it to stick.

To her surprise, her room was empty when she entered it. Usually at least one of her teammates was there working around this time, if not all of them waiting on he to finish her shower so they could go to dinner together. Maybe she was running late and they went on without her? She glanced at the clock. Nope. It was still half an hour until the caf opened. So where was everybody?

She hung up her towels on a hook in her and Coral's closet. It was Friday, which was game night for her. Sometimes she watched movies on her scroll with Coral, other times she would read entire books by herself. Occasionally, Olive would pull some obscure board game out of the library and they'd spend all night figuring out how to play while Nettle came up with the most ridiculous rules. Anything but homework because they had all weekend with no interruptions to do it. There was no one here tonight, however, and so Signe decided to nap until the caf opened, then head over to get a late dinner.

Only when she went to flop on her bed, she found there was something there. Not just any dress, but her favorite dress, a sleek one-shoulder oldie the color of champagne, with ruffles at exactly the right places. Signe only wore it for special occasions. It was spread across her covers neatly, clearly only disturbed as far as it took to walk it from the closet to the bedspread. On top there was a note:

Signe,

Put this on and come to Easton Hall Commons at 6:00.

Love,

A Friend

"That's weird," Signe muttered to herself. The handwriting was Coral's, she recognized it from the notes she sometimes stole for studying purposes. Why would Coral make her put on her best dress and cross the campus during dinner? Was this what her friends were hiding from her? Probably.

Well the only way to find out for sure what to humor the situation and go for it. So come 6:00, Signe found herself in her nice dress walking into Easton Hall Commons, simultaneously feeling a little foolish and quite nervous.

Usually, the common area of any of the dorms was filled with students playing games or watching television on the big screen. There was a fully stocked kitchen for people to use and at least in Beacon West it was always in use. So Signe was a little surprised to find the common area of Easton empty when she arrived there.

Confused, she looked around. Where was everyone? Even if her friends weren't throwing a surprise party for her- which apparently they weren't but she'd been hoping they would- there should be more people here.

So busy looking around for people was she that Signe did not at first notice the fully set table for two, complete with candles, unlit as per campus policy, right in front of her.

"What the- ?" she muttered to herself. The table was set with all the dishes in the right places, quite fancy for someone who'd grown up in a house too full to care about formalities. And the smell…it was delicious. But there was no food on the plates. Signe could only assume the smell was coming from something currently in the oven, but who would be that irresponsible to leave it on?

"Do you like it?" a voice asked from behind, startling her. She whirled and found herself facing Arya, dressed in the most gorgeous floor length gown, her red hair tied up in a complicated looking side bun. She was….stunning.

Still, it was not enough to distract Signe from her goal. "What's going on?"

Arya stepped forward, her feet clicking with every step. Was she wearing heels? "You never got to try the Mistralean food," Arya said easily. "So I thought I'd make you some."

Some of the nerves in Signe's chest began to unwind. Without meaning to, she began relaxed a little. It took her a moment to find her breath. "It smells good," she said thickly.

Arya beamed at her radiantly. "Thanks." Signe smiled and offered a slight humorless chuckle because there was more. There had to be.

"Was everybody in on this?" she asked, gesturing to the setup with a glance.

"Pretty much," Arya laughed. "I needed help scaring the others out of the common area."

Signe couldn't help but chuckle at the imagery associated with that. Daisy and Nettle probably had had a roaring time chasing unsuspecting people from the room while Coral stood with her hand on her temple. It had probably been a fun time.

And it definitely explained her friends' secrecy as of late. They _had_ been hiding something from her. Not maliciously, but to surprise her.

"For me?"

"Look," Arya said, putting a hand on Signe's shoulder. It was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but it gave Signe quite a shock. The simple pressure of Arya's grip grounded Signe, giving her something to cling to when everything felt so unrealistic. "That shop keeper was inappropriate. And maybe I could have responded better."

Arya paused then, giving Signe time to reply if she wanted to. When Signe didn't speak, Arya continued, "Since that was kind of a disaster, I was hoping to try again. I made spicy deep-fried rice balls with that brown sauce salad you wanted to try. What do you say?"

She looked at Arya then, _really_ looked at her. It was clear that she was nervous of what Signe might say.

Signe smiled, looking at the table, all the hard work put in by this gorgeous girl who seemed to actually want to be with her. She looked at Arya again, this time smiling. "It's a date."


	15. Epilogue

The woman stared out the window of the airship. Remnant was such an inappropriate name for this place, she rather thought. It was symbolic, meant to demonstrate that these lives they all lived were the remnants of cultures long since lost by war. But it didn't seem entirely fitting, in the woman's opinion, because before the smoke cleared the battlefields new cultures had already sprung up. These day-to-day lives everyone lived were not the leftovers of some abandoned world, but rather like new flowers in the springtime. The ebb and flow of society was a completely normal thing, as common as the changing seasons. not something to be ashamed of, but a good thing.

These thoughts and others rooted her to this window, looking out over the dark expanse of a beautiful, dangerous world. If she had not had a say in it's formation, how different would the world have turned out?

A set of footsteps from behind indicated the arrival of one of her people. She did not have many, but even just one would be enough for her. "Mithnite," the voice said. Sequoia, by the sound of it. "We have just received intel that they are infiltrating Vale first."

Mithnite turned around, deep eyes filled with all the years she had lived. "Then let's go there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! The servers went down at my university and we didn't have real internet for a while. On top of that, I came down with the flu v_v Wasn't updating while feeling like death was upon me.
> 
> So this is the last update for DYMD Vol 1 and I am officially labelling this story as complete! DYMD Vol 2 is already underway. I've been so busy in my final semester of uni that I don't know when I'll be able to start updating, as I haven't been able to write let alone edit. But you'll be happy to know that at least the first chapter is already complete.
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support! DYMD is not my best story by far, but it has been one of my favorites and I promise the writing will get better as the story progresses. So again, thank you for reading and poke around [my twitter](https://twitter.com/talaleisu2) to check for updates regarding Volume 2(:
> 
> CL


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